The plane landed jerkily in the newly built, surprisingly dilapidated Cairo airport. The O'Connells stepped out into the bright Egyptian sun, Evy chattering about the amazing flight, Rick carefully watching the sleazy-looking bellboys, Alex trying not to yawn. Rick led them out of the shabby building as quickly as possible and asked a camel vendor for the location of the nearest inn. Thankfully, it wasn't far, and they went to unload their luggage right away. "Oh, Rick, this is just lovely!" Evy was so happy to be back in Egypt that she barely noticed where she put her bags. One of them happened to land on Rick's foot. "Eh-yeah, lovely," he grated, yanking his foot out from under the heavy bag. "What've you got in there, Evy?" Evy waved her hand distractedly, looking out the window at the busy, sweltering city below. "Oh, things, my archeological supplies, mostly…" Rick nodded. "Yep, I pretty much figured that." He lifted Evy's heavy bag and put it in the closet with the others. "This isn't going to be a pleasure outing, is it, Evy? We're working." Evy turned to him, all innocent surprise. "Oh, no, Rick, absolutely not! This is absolutely for fun and fun alone. In fact," she said in surprise, as if she had just thought of it (which Rick was sure she hadn't), "why don't we go visit Ardeth today? Have a little reunion?"

Rick looked at her resignedly. "How do expect to find him, Evy?" he asked, knowing she already had an answer figured out. "He lives in the desert." Evy had already planned out this whole trip, he was sure. They would be in Hamunaptra by tomorrow. "Well," Evy said, apparently thinking, "we could aim for Hamunaptra… the Med-jai would most certainly come out to see us, wouldn't they? Good!" She smiled brilliantly. "So it's settled. We'll visit Hamunaptra right after we've eaten." Alex had been quiet this whole time, worn out from the trip, Rick assumed. But now, trying to follow his mother's train of thought, he was blinking in confusion. "Mum, have you lost your mind?" Evy ignored her son. Rick shook his head, but said nothing, knowing better than to argue with Evy. His beautiful, headstrong wife obviously had her heart set on visiting Hamunaptra. He guessed she was hoping that Ardeth would let them into the city because of their past history. He personally knew that the Med-jai chief wouldn't let them in, and for the same reason.

They went down and had the dinner the inn had prepared: dry, sandy bread, weak soup and bad wine. By the time dinner was over, Rick was wishing for London to come and rescue them. Evy, however, was as cheerful as she had been when they arrived. Alex ate without complaint, though Rick could tell he was sorely missing his flying lessons. So was Rick, for that matter. Evy didn't even seem to notice that the thicker chunks in the soup were unidentifiable. Rick loved Egypt as much as the next explorer, but his wife took adventure to extremes. Danger didn't really seem to exist for her, and though Rick was not exactly frightened of going near Hamunaptra, he was definitely apprehensive. His only consolation was the fact that Ardeth would not allow them inside the city no matter how much Evy pleaded.

The city was as hot and dusty as ever. Rick had to admit that he was glad to be back, and even his trepidation couldn't keep him from enjoying the walk through the Cairo streets, hearing the bustle of people, snatches of foreign languages, glimpses of strange clothes and items. Alex tugged on his father's arm. "Do you think they'll let me fly a plane here?" Rick smiled. "No, I'm pretty sure our little excursion will be air-free." Alex snapped his fingers. "Blast it." "Language," Evy said absently, looking animatedly at everything around her. Rick could tell that for her this was truly home. More than once he had considered moving here, just for her. Although he knew that she probably wouldn't hear of it, absorbed as she was with the doings of the British Museum. "Ah," said Evy, spotting the camel vendor from before. "Can I have my own camel, Mum?" Alex asked. "Please?" Evy looked to Rick, who shrugged and reached for their coins. "All right!" Alex grinned at the vendor, who smiled back, happy to be receiving more money.

"Oh, Danny boy…" Evy sang lightheartedly as they set off on their camels. Rick wondered why he had never noticed before that she could sing quite well. He didn't know the song, since his own musical repertoire ended somewhere around "Home on the Range", but he enjoyed listening to his wife trill as it took his mind from the heat of the desert. He was leading, since he knew the way. Alex was having a time controlling his camel, but he was enjoying every second of it. The last time he had been on a camel was when he had been the prisoner of an evil mummy, so this time around, he was trying to make the most of it. Though Rick did notice that his son's excitement was tinged ever so slightly with nervousness. Rick would have been nervous, too, if he had been through all of Alex's experiences.

Traveling through the desert also brought back memories for Rick, though perhaps slightly happier ones than his son's. He could still recall Evy, dressed as a native, urging her camel on and smiling at him as they raced the Americans to Hamunaptra. Just thinking about it brought a smile to his face. "Well, I'm glad to see that you're happy," Evy said playfully, song finished. Rick blinked out of his memories and grinned at her. "Oh, just being with you makes me happy, my dear," he said just as playfully. Evy reached over and lightly hit her husband with the blunt end of her whip, smiling still. Rick drew his camel right up next to hers and kissed her, still going forward since their camels didn't appear to notice their riders' inattention.

Alex glanced over incredulously. "Oh, Lord, you can't ever give it a rest, can you? Even way out here in the desert, you just have to suck faces, never mind the sand or the sun, it's all kissing, oh, ugh. I'm riding up ahead." He kicked his camel, who didn't change pace. "Move, stupid," Alex asked politely. The camel spit onto the ground and stopped dead. "Move! Move," Alex yelled as he kicked the camel. Evy broke away to say, "Alex, dear, be patient with him. Pat his rump." Alex patted his camel gently, saying, "Please move? Please?" The camel broke into a sudden run, almost throwing Alex and carrying him far ahead of his parents. "I like planes much betterrrr!" They heard as the distance between them lengthened. Rick separated their camels. "Well, we better catch up to him," he said. "Yes," sighed Evy regretfully. "Dik dik dik!" She said, slapping her camel lightly. Rick shook his head and matched pace. "In all the years I've known you, you still haven't come up with a better word than 'dik'?" He shouted as they caught up to Alex. Evy shrugged and grinned.